The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop

Completely updated and radically expanded, the new Rough guide to Hip-Hop is the definitive guide to every aspect of the music, tracing its story from its origins in the 1970s as New York’s urban folk music all the way to hip-hop’s current dominance as the world’s best-selling genre. Extensive biographies cover hip-hop’s entire spectrum, from the millionaire players to the underground freestylers, from gangster rappers to conscious rhymers, all alongside hundreds of illustrations by top hip-hop photographers. Pioneers like Run DMC and Public Enemy, as well as global superstars of today such as Eminem and Jay Z, are all covered in detail; and each entry concludes with recommendations of the best of their recordings on CD. All the best MCs, DJs, B-Boys and graffiti-writers are here, but there are also extensive sidebars that go beyond the music to the lifestyle, describing hip-hop’s fashions, films, feuds and fads.